US stocks ended flat last night as money managers reshuffled portfolios on the last day of the quarter.
However, the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index posted its best quarter in nearly five years with a gain of nearly 15 per cent.
Over the past three-and-a-half months, stocks have rallied sharply amid hopes for an economic rebound later this year. The blue-chip Dow gained 12.4 per cent in the second quarter, the broader S&P 500 Index rose 14.9 per cent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq climbed 21 per cent.
Historically, it was the best quarterly performance for the S&P 500 index since the fourth quarter of 1998 when the index rose 20.9 per cent.
It was the best quarter for the Dow since the fourth quarter of 2001 when it gained 13.3 per cent and the Nasdaq's best quarterly performance since the fourth quarter of 2001 when the index climbed 30.1 per cent.
In economic news, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago reported its business barometer rose to 52.5 from 52.2 in May. The index, an influential measure of manufacturing activity in the Midwestern United States, pointed to modest growth, but it fell a bit short of economists' forecasts for a reading of 53.0.